Peter Hicks of the U.S. Army celebrates a victory last season. Hicks was one of three repeat champions at the Armed Forces Greco-Roman Championships. Larry Slater photo

FORT CARSON, Colo. – The U.S. Army defended its team title with a dominant performance at the 2011 Armed Forces Greco-Roman Championships at the Special Events Center on the Fort Carson Army base.

Army won all three dual meets, stopping Navy 29-2, Air Force 30-0 and Marines, 21-2. The Marines placed second with a 2-1 record, the Navy was third with a 1-2 record and the Air Force was fourth with a 0-3 record.

The Army team won all seven individual gold medals in the tournament, matching last year’s feat.

Repeating as Armed Forces Greco-Roman champions were Army wrestlers Peter Hicks (84 kg/185 lbs.), Justin Millard (96 kg/211.5 lbs) and Dremiel Byers (120 kg/264.5 lbs).

The other individual U.S. Army champions were Nate Engel (55 kg/121 lbs.), Marco Lara (60 kg/132 lbs.), Glenn Garrison (66 kg/145.5 lbs.) and John Anderson (74 kg/163 lbs.). All seven Army champions finished with a 3-0 record.

The individual champions in Greco-Roman earned a spot in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa, April 21-22.

Byers had already qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials as a past U.S. World Team and Olympic Team members. The other six individual champions have been added to the field in Iowa City at their weight classes.

“This is the toughest, smallest tournament you will ever wrestle in,” said U.S. Army Coach Shon Lewis. “It doesn’t matter if you are 33-0 or 0-33, it’s a rivalry and there will be some tough matches. They guys competed well. I am proud we got all seven. Coming into this tournament, I didn’t have guys like Mango, Lester, Davis. They are already qualified for the Olympic Trials. Except for Byers, all the guys who wrestled today needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials. I am pleased with them. We are halfway there. Tomorrow we have freestyle. It isn’t a qualifier, but it is the Armed Forces and we have to be ready.”

Six of the runners-up were from U.S. Marine Corps, with the U.S. Air Force having the other runner-up.

“It was a hard-fought, very intense competition,” said U.S. Marine Corps coach Dan Hicks. “Hats off the Army. They wrestled extremely well. They have a strong team. I don’t think that’s a secret. My guys fought hard. We will keep fighting them. We finished second, so we have work to do.”

ARMED FORCES GRECO-ROMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Fort Carson, Colo., Nov. 4

Team Standings
1. Army, 3-0 record
2. Marines, 2-1 record
3. Navy, 1-2 record
4. Air Force, 0-3 record

Dual Meets

ARMY 29, NAVY 2

55 kg - Nathan Engel (Army) dec. Darnell Jones (Navy), 5-0, 9-0
60 kg – Marco Lara (Army) pin Sheldon Wilder (Navy), 6-0, 0:45
66 kg – Glenn Garrison (Army) tech fall Steven Martinez (Navy), 6-0, 6-0
74 kg – John Anderson (Army) dec. Karl Nadolsky (Navy), 1-0, 1-4, 4-1
84 kg – Peter Hicks (Army) tech fall Robert Yamashita (Navy), 7-0, 6-0
96 kg – Justin Millard (Army) pin Christopher Michael (Navy), 0:41
120 kg – Dremiel Byers (Army) win by forfeit over Navy

MARINES 24, AIR FORCE 5

55 kg – Bobby Phelps (Marines) dec. Neal Rodak (Air Force), 2-0, 4-0
60 kg – Donovan Depatto (Marines) pin Raniel Buenviaje (Air Force), 6-0, 0:44
66 kg – Daniel Sotonieves (Marines) pin Jordan Gelnett (Air Force), 4-0, 0:39
74 kg – Bryce Saddoris (Marines) win by inj def over Sam West (Air Force), 0:26
84 kg – C.J. Myers (Marines) dec. Jeff Zastrow (Air Force), 6-0, 0-2, 1-0
96 kg – Moises Hernandez (Marines) dec. Chris Meyer (Air Force), 6-0, 1-0
120 kg – Joseph Sheffield (Marines) dec. Nader Maghribi (Air Force), 3-1, 5-0

ARMY 30 AIR FORCE 0

55 kg –Nathan Engel (Army) dec. Neal Rodak (Air Force), 3-0, 2-0
60 kg – Marco Lara (Army) dec. Raniel Buenviaje (Air Force), 10-0, 0:53
66 kg – Glenn Garrison (Army) tech. fall Jordan Gellnet (Air Force), 9-0, 7-0
74 kg – John Anderson (Army) inj. dft. Sam West (Air Force)
84 kg – Peter Hicks (Army) dec. Jeff Zastrow (Air Force), 5-0, 2-0
96 kg – Justin Millard (Army) pin Chris Meyer (Air Force), 0:56
120 kg – Dremiel Byers (Army) inj. dft. Nader Maghribi (Air Force)

MARINES 24, NAVY 2

55 kg – Bobby Phelps (Marines) dec. Darnell Jones (Navy), 0-3, 9-2, 7-0
60 kg – Donavan DePatto (Marines) dec. Sheldon Wilder (Navy), 2-0, 7-1
66 kg – Daniel Sotonieves (Marines) dec. Steven Martinez (Navy), 6-0, 5-0
74 kg – Bryce Saddoris (Marines) dec. Karl Nadolsky (Navy), 1-0, 7-0
84 kg – C.J. Meyers (Marines) dec. Robert Yamashita (Navy), 6-0, 1-0
96 kg – Moises Hernandez (Marines) dec. Christopher Michael (Navy), 5-0, 1-0
120 kg – Joseph Sheffield (Marines) won by forfeit

ARMY 21, MARINES 2

55 kg – Nathan Engel (Army) dec. Bobby Phelps (Marines), 2-1, 1-0
60 kg – Marco Lara (Army) dec. Donovan DePatto (Marines), 2-0, 0-1, 3-0
66 kg – Glenn Garrison (Army) dec. Daniel Sotonieves (Marines)
74 kg – John Anderson (Army) dec. Bryce Saddoris (Marines), 1-0, 3-0
84 kg – Peter Hicks (Army) dec. C.J. Meyers (Marines), 1-0, 1-0
96 kg – Justin Millard (Army) dec. Moises Hernandez (Marines), 1-0, 1-0
120 kg – Dremiel Byers (Army) dec. Joseph Sheffield (Marines), 3-0, 2-0

NAVY 17, AIR FORCE 12
55 kg – Neal Rodak (Air Force) dec. Darnell Jones (Navy), 3-0, 3-0
60 kg – Sheldon Wilder (Navy) pin Raniel Buenviaje (Air Force), 6-0, 0:44
66 kg – Steven Martinez (Navy) pin Jordan Gelnett (Air Force), 0:48
74 kg – Karl Nadolsky (Navy) dec. Sam West (Air Force), 6-0, 1-0
84 kg – Jeff Zastrow (Air Force) dec. Robert Yamashita (Navy), 6-2, 0-1, 1-0
96 kg – Christopher Michaels (Navy) dec. Chris Meyer (Air Force), 1-0, 0-1, 1-0
120 kg – Nader Maghribi (Air Force) won by forfeit

Armed Forces Greco-Roman medalists (gold and silver)

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold –SGT Nathan Engel (Army)
Silver – MAJ Neal Rodak (Air Force)

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold – SPC Marco Lara (Army)
Silver – SSGT Donovan DePatto (Marines)

66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – SSG Glenn Garrison (Army)
Silver – SGT Daniel Sotonieves (Marines)

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – CPT John Anderson (Army)
Silver – 2LT Bryce Saddoris (Marines),

84 kg/185 lbs
Gold – SGT Peter Hicks (Army)
Silver – CPL C.J. Meyers (Marines),

96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold – SPC Justin Millard (Army)
Silver – SGT Moises Hernandez (Marines)

120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold – SFC Dremiel Byers (Army)
Silver – LCPL Joseph Sheffield (Marines)